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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24742768">Unexpected Family</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblyShip/pseuds/BubblyShip'>BubblyShip</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated (Cartoon 2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adopted, Angst, Attempted Kidnapping, Complicated Relationships, Family, Family Feels, Family centered, Father-Son Relationship, Headcanon, Kidnapping, Oneshot, Parenthood, Regret, Scooby Doo - Freeform, Traps, father - Freeform, mayor jones, mystery incorporated - Freeform, unplanned parent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:14:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24742768</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblyShip/pseuds/BubblyShip</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a lot of things wrong with Crystal Cove. </p><p>And there was a lot of things wrong with Mayor Jones.</p><p>By far, in his mind, his worst mistake was kidnapping a child and pretending to be his Father. Now he has to raise the very thing that displayed his worst fears and anxieties, wrapped tightly into a boy that was a little bit too smart.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Unexpected Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A child.</p><p>There, hugged by the moonlight on the cliffside, was Jones. Young black hair glistened with droplets of water, an old, used mask cast aside onto a nearby rock. He could almost hear the man begging for a different solution, just as he could hear the hum of a car slowly fade into nothing but eerie silence.</p><p>Until a coo sounded.</p><p>Jones made a mistake. A big mistake. The costume he had obsessive built for hours stuck to his skin, unable to be removed as quickly as the mask. He had worn that mask during the encounter, Brad had no idea he was Mr. Jones from their college stay. Brad would never know it was their teacher who had betrayed them, the very man who had given them knowledge and sent their parrot into an asylum, forever stuck within a cage that would be his final resting place.</p><p>Everything was going fine! His plan had worked! The Mystery Incorporated Gang was separated, the blackmail had worked. Now only he was left with the knowledge of the discs, of the treasure, so only he could seek it out. It was a perfect plan.</p><p>Until Brad and Judy decided to try again.</p><p>Without any strength from the weight of his sins, Jones sunk to the ground. A gentle coo sounded from his arms, making the future mayor of Crystal Cove look down. Looks like the baby was waking up.</p><p>He was desperate. Ever so desperate. Jones had won, hadn't he? The first piece of six was his, and now he had a hostage. Brad always needed that extra push, and when blackmail didn't work, Jones worked on his adrenaline.</p><p>Thus, the child.</p><p>Their small chubby arms reached out, wide blue eyes peeling open as a gurgle escaped. Jones just made a mistake.</p><p>Sure, a hostage was a great idea on <em>paper</em>. The extra food costs and security to make sure a person wouldn't escape or die wouldn't be too much, but that was for a small period of time. Like using a hostage for money, or for knowledge. Movies often depicted it that way, Jones wasn't sure. But hostages were never supposed to be permanent.</p><p>Yet here he was, the rush from the last incident slowly winding down to utter horror when he realized his flawed misstep. It hadn't been a calculated decision like the others, it was sudden, out of fear. He was scared and alone, if his blackmail on Brad's parents didn't work, he had nothing else. Jones was scared.</p><p>That's why he dove for the baby seat when he saw it.</p><p>Frankly, Jones had no idea why Brad would be stupid enough to bring his newborn child to a place he was no longer welcome to. But, in a sense, Brad was never welcomed here. No one liked mystery solvers, people who asked too many questions and disrupted the peace and stagnant repetition of town. They asked questions, they solved mysteries, they changed lives. To some, who were comfortable in their ignorance, the sudden truth scared them.</p><p>Just as the sudden reappearance of Brad's trusty vehicle had started Jones. He hadn't planned to ever see him again, it had been over two years. Everything was going perfectly!</p><p>Jones only wore the costume as to keep the legends about hauntings in Crystal Cove going. It was a distraction, he wasn't doing anything bad with it, just looking around, doing research. Though research wasn't going too far, he was fine with that. He was in no rush.</p><p>This time, it had been Brad who chased Jones, the freak of Crystal Cove, all the way up the mountain to the old church they had first encountered one another. He was scared, alone, head spinning with a rush of adrenaline and utter fear. Jones only moved here because he heard about the treasure, he didn't have too many friends here, nor did he have anything to his name. If he was caught, everything would be over. The rest of their gang would come out of the shadows, they'd take his progress and find the treasure. There wasn't any doubt about that, they were talented mystery solvers who had put on thick skin against bullying and doubts. They could move on with their lives, but Jones couldn't! The treasure was his everything!</p><p>When he saw the baby seat, he lunged. It was a desperate attempt, his words frantic and rushed, legs trembling. Surely Brad had thought ahead, he and Judy always did that, and they had a trap placed to protect their son.</p><p>Yet, when Jones had made the threat, Brad backed down. Hands held up, he surrendered, admitting defeat and begging that his son not to be harmed. He hadn't anticipated this, even from a freak.</p><p>Which only made Jones feel more horrible, standing under the stars and moon that fateful night. How low would he delve until he was nothing but the scum of the earth?</p><p>That had been his lowest point by far. Wearing a soaked costume that made his skin appear bumpy and pale, kneeling besides a broken down church, with tears of fear ready to fall and a baby that wasn't even his grasped in his arms.</p><p>It was too late to go back now. That was the thing about bigger mistakes, the bigger they were, the more you couldn't turn back and fix them. Jones didn't know where Judy and Brad were, and if he did, he'd have to admit to being the freak of the town. They'd all come back, the parrot would be released, and instead Jones would be the one in that cage.</p><p>But he deserved it, didn't he? Professor Pericles was serving a life sentence for a crime he didn't even commit, a crime that didn't even happen. The children weren't missing, they just went into hiding because of him. They wouldn't have even known there was a treasure until he opened up his fat mouth. And now, if it wasn't enough that he ruined the lives of them and their families, he had to make one final hit to seal the deal. He had stolen their child, a precious baby boy, who didn't even have anything to do with this.</p><p>"At least keep his name," Brad had spoken before he left, water from the downpour earlier making his thick, tangled ginger hair cling to his large forehead. "We named him after a man who was always there for us. Fred, named after Mr. Jones from the college just down the road. Please, at least keep his name."</p><p>That only made Jones feel worst.</p><p>Fred was a better name for the child, better than he ever held it.</p><p>Little Fred reached up, as if sensing Jones' quarrel, and gave a giggle. He was so innocent, he had so much of his life ahead of him. Yet Jones had ripped that from him, stealing him away when his obsession for a dumb treasure went too far.</p><p>He wasn't at all prepared to raise a child! The apartment he had been renting was too cramped, and definitely not baby proof. Was Jones even mentally prepared to give this child attention and time that a boy needed? Did Jones even want a child?</p><p>Well, it was too late to go back now. Jones stood up, using one hand to properly leverage Fred and the other to pick up the mask he had thrown down in agony once Brad had left. Maybe one day, Fred could see his parents again, he could get the Mother and Father he deserved.</p><p>However, today was not that day. That day would not come for a long time, Jones concluded.</p><p>The best he could do was give this child a life he deserved.</p><p>~~~~~~</p><p>To say raising Fred was a lie. It wasn't. Jones had not been prepared in the slightest for a sudden appearance of a child in his life, and he had to adapt quickly. Countless hours were spent in front of his small phone, rocking a sleeping baby as he watched videos on how to properly raise a child. All of his money that he had set aside to find the treasure were instead transferred to Fred's needs.</p><p>Thankfully, Jones was a quick learner, or else he likely would have never made it this far before family services took Fred away. However, he prospered, and Fred had a stable family life. Jones managed to cut out a few pictures of a woman for an excuse of a dead Mother, using it as an explanation to people as to why he had a sudden child. "She died during childbirth," Jones would lie, his voice dripping with soft sorrow every time he spoke. "I miss her, but I promised her I'd raise our son."</p><p>Crystal Cove was easily to fool, he's gotten to know how to trick the town ages ago. No one questioned where his wife was before, or how they met, or why they never saw her around before. People would look at him pitiful after he would lie about her using the same words very time, yet they would look hopeful, none of the wiser as he wove more and more lies into his life.</p><p>Really, what Jones had done was weave a net to trap himself inside of with each lie that added onto the burdens he carried. It was ready to spring at any moment, all of his exits blocked off for escape. Someone just needed to piece together the clues and pull the trigger.</p><p>Weeks turned to months, and months faded into years. Fred was growing into a strong young lad, with enough confidence and obliviousness to rival Brad. He got his hair from his Mother, and his eyes from his Mother. Everytime Jones looked at him, he never did see his child. He only saw another burden he was forced to carry, another lie to present to the world with the fake smile he had long since mastered. Fred wasn't someone he loved, he was just a roommate with special needs. Nothing more.</p><p>That's what Jones told himself, at least.</p><p>He would sit at the edge of his bed late at night, blinking back the tears that always arrived with the darkening thoughts as Fred would sleep away in the other room. Kindergarten was around the corner, and this was the last chance Jones had to duck out. Say he couldn't handle taking care of Fred without his wife, but still pop in for a visit to make sure the boy was fine, just as he promised Brad.</p><p>"Daddy?"</p><p>Jones looked up, thoughts dwindling away into the dark corners of the room when he saw Fred standing there, holding a book thicker than him own arms against his chest. He blinked innocently, unaware of the turmoil he had caused Jones simply by entering his life.</p><p>"Can you read me a story?" He begged, "It's dark and scary!"</p><p>Jones debated a bit before he sighed, nodding. "Sure, kid. Just... Just give me a minute."</p><p>"Are you afraid of the monsters too?"</p><p>That drew his attention, snapping his focus entirely on Fred. Monsters?</p><p>"The monsters in the shadows, from the stories..." His high pitched, child voice squeaked nervously. "Can you not sleep because of them too?"</p><p>"There's no such thing as monsters, Fred." Jones knew it, there were no real monsters in Crystal Cove.</p><p>None but him.</p><p>"But why is this the most haunted place on earth if there isn't?" Fred asked.</p><p>Jones could let Fred grow up with the same ignorance every other town member held. Ignorant people were easier to sway, the less knowledge they had meant the less common sense they had. In that regard, if Fred was raised like the others, Jones could control him.</p><p>But that meant others could control Fred as well, and Fred deserved to be informed to make his own decisions.</p><p>That was how Jones secured the trap, and his future, by walking over to him and kneeling down. "Fred," He said, securing his hands onto the boys shoulders, "There are no monsters. They don't exist. People only dress up like monsters to scare others. You're a smart boy, you'll know a mask when you see one. Use your logic, pinpoint them, take off the mask and see for yourself."</p><p>"Okay Daddy!" Fred said, smiling up at him so innocently and sweetly that it hurt. "I love you!"</p><p>That only made Jones feel worse.</p><p>Ever since that day, Jones had sealed himself into the Father role he never asked for. Fred continued to grow, taking on more traits.</p><p>In school, his son was a joke. Fred didn't understand other people, When Fred found a friend, he latched onto them, his obsessive and controlling nature taking ahold. It was misunderstanding for natural social conventions that really screwed over Fred, his ability to make friends slowly dwindling down. And it hurt, seeing Fred come home, looking sour as another kid stuck gum in his hair. Yet the boy never cried. Instead, he puffed up his chest, showing the same immunity to social pressure that he real Father held, and said he'd try again the next day.</p><p>It almost drove Jones to tears, to see Fred suffering like that.</p><p>What really gave him a shock, though, was the traps. Just like both of his parents, Fred carried an unhealthy love for traps. It started small, trapping little frogs into holes, or leading ants away into a small container he had cut out a hole into. As the years passed on, the love grew more. As did Jones' fears, compiling onto him until he snapped one day out of utter fear.</p><p>"I want all of these traps out of here, now!"</p><p>That was the first time Jones raised his voice with Fred. And it was the first time Fred cried, as well. Thick, hot tears spilled down his face as he gently scooped up the trap he had built. It was wonky, unprofessional, utterly worthless. Still, he continued to cry, and soon was throwing it away and scurrying into his room.</p><p>Only after the impulse of his outburst settled did Jones swear to himself, settling down onto the couch with his head in his hands. He went and did it again, didn't he? Just as he did all those years ago by that darn church, he did the same thing to Fred, outraging and making another mistake to add onto his mess of a life.</p><p>He just kept making mistake after mistake, didn't he?</p><p>The trap wasn't hurting anyone, Fred has used their old, broken Tupperware and made them into something that worked. So why was Jones angry?</p><p>He wasn't. He was scared. Fred was becoming like his parents, the very people who almost destroyed everything he had been working towards. The man reached out, pushing aside Fred's homework that had been set upon his research documents about the cursed treasure.</p><p>Jones was ruining his entire life, and other peoples, for this stupid treasure!</p><p>What was he turning into?</p><p>He could remember the time before he learned about it, back in his own little hometown. With his happy parents, good friends, a career of teaching ahead. At that time, he had been so excited! Now Jones could barely even muster up a real smile, even at T.V shows.</p><p>It was that night he drove out to a few stores, gathering extra cash to buy Fred some materials. When he had returned, Fred was still in his room, pressing his knees against his forehead, crying long having stopped. He didn't look up when Jones approached, sniffling to himself. Only when his fake Father set down a book onto his lap did he look up, innocent eyes glossed with previous tears.</p><p>"Fred, you shouldn't build traps without guidance," Jones said, pointing to the book. "This is just a starter, and I don't know how to build traps, so I can't help you. But... you enjoy making traps, you should keep making them. Don't let anyone stop you just because they disagree with what you like."</p><p>And it was also that night, when Fred had hugged him, that Jones had decided his fate. He would continue to seek the treasure, but not for personal gain. The curse had ruined so many good people, and if he stopped, who else would it hurt seeking for it? What if it claimed Fred at its next victim?</p><p>That's why, Jones swore that night as he cradled Fred next to him, that he'd destroy it once he got his hands on it. He was already too gone, but that didn't mean he should drag others down this rabbit hole he had thrown himself into. Jones had dug himself this far, all that was left to do was drown out the hole, while he was inside of it.</p><p>~~~~~~</p><p>Mayor Jones. That was his name now. He wasn't sure how he stumbled across the information, but all he knew was that the only Mayor had died from old age, and they were looking for someone new. And, with the encouragement of Fred and the need for some extra cash and a bigger space, he jumped onto it. He's been manipulating everyone in Crystal Cove for years, why not make it official?</p><p>That's how he met the Sheriff. Sheriff Bronson Stone. They became friends, and it felt like he finally had someone to lean against. Jones could never confess his true problems, but he had a friend to talk to when the going was tough. Sure, he was loud, but he was an honest man. A good friend.</p><p>Years continued to pass, and Fred continued to grow older. He started to meet people as well, a few people who became his friends. Only when they all gathered together to see Fred's new car that his heart dropped, looking at the four people and their pet companion.</p><p>"We can spray paint this as our mystery machine!" Fred had said happily.</p><p>He had to excuse himself inside to throw up.</p><p>Fred was becoming like his parents too much, things were starting to repeat themselves. Monsters were showing up again, and the group was catching them, unmasking them. Oh, how Jones desperately tried to ease Fred away from the mystery solving. "Become Mayor, follow my footsteps," Jones would say, silently begging for just this once, for Fred to listen to him.</p><p>Fred never did.</p><p>Jones even drove his son out to the same college he had taught at, trying to take him away from his friends to make some new ones. Crystal Cove already had one Mystery Inc. that went missing, no need for a second. They still had time to run, to get away from the treasure before it tainted them just like the previous generation, just like him.</p><p>It was in the car, when he had went to pick up Fred, that he saw the group together, and one of the discs within his hand.</p><p>There was still time, wasn't there?</p><p>He tried. Oh, he tried so much. Everything he did now was to tear Fred away from the fate he had sealed himself to. Sleep was lost, tossing and turning as his grey lines in his hair continued to grow. He needed the discs, he needed to destroy the treasure, and destroy himself with it. What else did he have?</p><p>The costume was old, covered in dust as Mayor Jones gingerly peeled it out of his box that had been shoved aside so long ago. He could feel the trap of his woven lies slowly closing in, and he knew then and there if anyone was going to set it, that person was going to be Freddy.</p><p>Sure enough, it was.</p><p>He was scared, alone, just like before, climbing up the side of the cliff towards the hill. Surely he could lose Fred, he didn't have trump card this time. Jones bit back tears, using his training from before to climb up the steep cliff. His arms were shaking, but he forced down the acid in his throat. Jones knew his time was coming, but he was stupidly grasping onto the last sparkle of hope he had managed to shield away in his heart.</p><p>And that sparkle of hope was Fred.</p><p>He had grabbed onto Fred, no, onto his son before he could slip. If Fred had fallen, he could have gotten away. But Fred had called out for help, and so his Father was there, pulling him back up to safety. Jones wasn't about to make another mistake on this cursed cliff, not for that treasure.</p><p>Even then, when all of the cards were down, he still ran. He couldn't stop the tears, blinking away so his vision wouldn't go blurry. Moonlight bore down like a spotlight, catching his form as he tried to flee. It was worthless, he could hear Fred closing in. That was his son there, the boy he had raised, that was chasing him.</p><p>The very son who tackled him, and unmasked him for the world to see.</p><p>He could see the Sheriff's eyes. Brown, narrowed, but going stiff from shock. They silently pleaded for Jones to give an excuse, that the freak of Crystal Cove that drove out a group of teenagers before wasn't him, but Jones simply looked away and silently thanked the stars above that his mask had soaked up his tears. There was no answers to give but the truth, the same truth he had been hiding for so long.</p><p>And finally, his fate caught up to him. The trap had been strung, he was both figuratively and physically captured. No where to run, no where to hide. No friends, no mask, no son. Just a lone man, standing behind a cell, with nothing but the weight of his regrets to keep him company.</p><p>In another life, without the curse, maybe things would have turned out better. Maybe he would have become a teacher like he always wanted, or maybe a coach. Jones did love to teach Fred soccer when he had joined the team. In another life, perhaps. But in that life, he wouldn't have obsessed over a treasure that ruined this one.</p><p>He had no one to blame but himself, really. That was a fact Jones accepted, a truth he was finally ready to admit.</p><p>Now all that was left was for death to accept him. So Jones stayed behind the bars, accepting his fate of a cursed death to match his cursed life. A fitting end for a man who betrayed so many.</p><p>But Fred wasn't the type to leave anyone to that fate, not even the man who lied about his entire life.</p><p>It was as if everything in his life finally broke through the dam he had built, causing the once Mayor of town to break down when Fred had given him a look. The look wasn't innocent, not anymore. Fred had grown, had changed. He knew what betrayal felt, how heartbreak felt, how fear could chip away at a person until they were nothing but a broken monster.</p><p>Everything just broke then. He sobbed uncontrollably, pressing his worked and toughened hands against the bars as the tears he held back finally let loose. "Why did you come back?" He sobbed, back hunching as he couldn't bare to even look at his son. "I'm not your real Dad, go find him! I kidnapped you, I ruined your life!"</p><p>"Did you, though?"</p><p>Jones choked on a sob, looking up. "Of course I did. I kidnapped you from your real parents!"</p><p>"I... well, I met them," Fred said, "They aren't good people either, they've tried to hurt and trick me. They're more obsessed with the discs than you are."</p><p>"That doesn't excuse anything else I did to you, Fred." He wiped away a stray tear and sniffed.</p><p>"Like teaching me how to ride a bike? Or saving my life on the cliff?" Fred asked, "You didn't have to do any of those things. But you still were there for me, you still were my Dad. They may be my parents, but you're my Dad. You've always been."</p><p>Jones sniffed, closing his eyes to blink away any remaining tears. "I'm so sorry, Fred."</p><p>"I know." Fred smiled gently. "But Dad, I still love you."</p><p>Fred was forgiving him. After everything he's done, after how many lies he's spilled, Fred was still forgiving, accepting, and loving him. Because that wasn't just a roommate, or a hostage, no. That was his son there, who was giving him that smile,</p><p>"I... I love you too, Fred," Jones said, "I always have."</p><p>And for the first time in so long...</p><p>Jones accepted he could be loved again. </p><p> </p>
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